Toy shows complex behavior

Dr. Joanne Budzien, assistant professor of physics at MacMurray College, has had a paper published in The Journal of Chemical Physics.

The paper describes how changing a common “toy” polymer model to be slightly more realistic changes the physics of the model in unexpected ways

These results will be helpful to people who wish to understand the basic physics of commercial plastics that are common in food applications, where we need rigid containers with some flexibility, and we need to understand how gases (e.g., water, carbon dioxide, air) go through the walls of the material.

The paper, titled “Effect of Chain Flexibility on Master Curve Behavior for Diffusion Coefficient,” can be read here.

Dr. Budzien has a bachelor’s degree in basic science, as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in materials engineering, all from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, N.M., where she also spent time as research professor.

The Journal of Chemical Physics, published by AIP Publishing of Melville, NY, focuses on innovative research in experimental and theoretical areas of chemical physics, including spectroscopy, dynamics, kinetics, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics, according to its website (http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp). Topical areas such as polymers, soft matter, materials, surfaces/interfaces and systems of biological relevance are of increasing importance for the Journal.